JEW'S HARP     


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Easy jew's harp

          . This very simple hand-made jew's harp was invented by a Japanese blacksmith Ryuji Kojima. If you want to try your hand at making a jew's harp, it is the simplest and the best variant.

The frame of the jew's harp is unusual. It is made of split pin.


So we shape the split pin by round-nose pliers and iron core.


We should turn the arms at some angle. We cut off a stripe of steel spring for the reed. A metallic ruler, watch spring or saw blade for wood also can be used. If the steel is not very hard you can use tin snips. However it is better to cut out with an angle grinder, chilling it by water constantly.

We plane the reed carefully, and then we grind the cone till the necessary sizes (not letting it to heat) and grip in a hand-vice.

Now we grind the edges of the reed by circular movement. Then we sharp edges of the reed "to knife".


We sharpen the edges of the arms.


We make a slot for the reed.


We turn the reed by round-nose pliers and polish everything. The reed is not to be heat processed (or hardened).

The reed attached to the frame with the aid of the segment of hardened wire and hammer blows.


Regulating of the gap is only left. It can be done by means of round-nose pliers or just by hands gripping the jew's harp in a vice. You can do other way if you need to decrease the gap only at one side.

That is all. We can enjoy the off-the-shelf instrument.




The case is made of South American wood - balsa.


Another sptit pin jew's harp


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© Vladimir Markov 2009, this article translated by Natalia Ivanitsa